Rocket scientists teach space capabilities, threats

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Dominique Boivin
  • 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron
F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo. --  Five company grade officers attended the 2007 Space Control Conference held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., April 30. 

This three-day conference, full of lectures about space threats, capabilities and emerging doctrines, was a gathering of some of the most intelligent scientists and analysts in the country, coming from organizations such as NASA, MIT Lincoln Labs, Sandia National Laboratories, United States Air Force Academy and various military agencies including U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Naval Observatory and others. 

First Lt. Matt Lord, 90th Operations Group, said he enjoyed the opportunity "to see a whole different side of the Air Force." 

"We learned how information is shared between various groups such as [intelligence agencies], contractors, scientists, acquisitions and operations. I think we all came away with a much better understanding of how new systems go from an idea to reality," he said. 

The trip, sponsored by Col. Mike Carey, 90th Space Wing commander, was an opportunity for young military officers to gain knowledge about a portion of the Air Force Space Command mission and space in general that they normally wouldn't see at Warren on a daily basis, said 1st Lt. Mike Weaver, 20th Air Force and company grade officer's council president. 

The conference was full of terms learned in Astronautical Engineering classes such as right ascension of the ascending node and acronyms like SSA which sound like a counterintelligence term but really means space situational awareness. 

"It's essential that war fighters at all levels understand our nation's space capabilities and the threats to those capabilities," said 1st Lt. Gary Foster, 90th OG. "Conferences like this are critical in transitioning from a 'need to know' to a 'need to share' mentality."

The officers were not only prepped to share the future of the space mission with others, but had the opportunity to listen to field grade officers who took time out of their schedule to impart their experiences with the CGOs. 

"The mentoring opportunities gave our group some valuable insight from senior leaders that will go far beyond the scope of the conference. The experiences that were shared can be used to help us navigate any leadership challenge we may face," said 1st Lt. Will Boyd, 321st Missile Squadron.